France becomes first EU country to ban social media access for under-15s
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jul/21/france-ban-social-media-access-under-15sOpen linkView original on mander.xyzSyndicated from the fediverse. Read and engage on the original instance.
View original on mander.xyzhttps://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jul/21/france-ban-social-media-access-under-15sOpen linkView original on mander.xyz
11 replies
children will find a way to use these apps anyway , but on the bright side the french and US government will be able to link your real identity to your digital identity now 🤷♂️
past laws barring/gating access like these have shown that the vast majority of people won’t try to get around them -- and that’s actually the point. In a liberal democracy, it’s useful to have only a tiny fraction of the population understand how things really work. that small group can then be easily dismissed as extremists, just like any other fringe group. this helps reinforce the country’s mainstream narratives and propaganda since the "silent majority" seem to be going along with it.
Have they? Piracy used to be extremely widespread even among people who didn't know much about computers, and recent reports in Australia show that 85% of teens use VPNs to bypass restrictions. In countries with restricted such as China & Russia, VPNs are tools that are near universal.
Also, the current French president (along his government) is on the way out, the next elections are next year, there is no telling how long the law will remain in effect.
piracy is one thing, but this is censorship leveraged to bury genocides and ethnic cleanings by limiting access to a small group of people that are labeled as malcontents or "tankies" by society.
decades of censorship like this in the mainstream media prove how effective it is.
There isn't even a plan for how this is applied, France just makes laws and doesn't go through enforcing them
Ok now ban it for everyone over 15 as well and we're good
Then, finally, ban it for 15 year olds as well.
It would be funny if only 15 year olds were allowed on social media. We should let that go for couple of months, just so we can watch the world burn.
Ironic (I tried posting the emperor gif but it didn’t let me )
Britain: "We're gonna use identity verification to ban social media for young people!"
France: "Tiens mon vin."